nuclear-news

 Andrea Carta. Sir, Your report on the European Commission’s plans to allow direct state aid for nuclear power (“EU to allow state aid for nuclear power”, July 20) has prompted a somewhat confusing reply from the commission. Antoine Colombani, the EC spokesman for competition, goes to great lengths to argue (“EU rules do not prohibit state aid for nuclear power”, Letters, July 23) that the commission is still sitting on the fence on the issue, but his claims are flawed

Under EU competition rules, state aid is prohibited and only justified if it supports a common EU interest. The leaked commission guidelines on state aid describe subsidies to nuclear energy as a “common EU objective”. Given the divergence of policies on nuclear power in Europe, this definition can only be interpreted as a signal that the commission intends to carve out specific state aid provisions for nuclear power. Reactions to the leak from Germany and Austria’s leaders confirm this reading.

In the absence of guidelines on state aid for nuclear power, EU member states need to prove that aid measures clearly meet a common EU interest and that the aid is necessary – something they may struggle to do. In this respect at least, the leaked new guidelines would leave the commission little alternative but to find in favour of any future applications for state aid for nuclear power.

The subsidised construction of nuclear plants would perpetuate the fragmentation of the EU energy market, exacerbating the clash between inflexible and wasteful energy from nuclear power and flexible energy from renewables. It threatens investments in smarter interconnection between different parts of the power grid, capable of integrating renewable energy sources. And it could pit the UK against Germany in a battle for Europe’s energy future.